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2011 Map of Sykes Spring

Name: 2011 Topographic Map of Sykes Spring
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 2011
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 2011

About this map

Sykes Mountain dominates the eastern horizon of this 2011 survey, a landscape defined by industrial extraction and vital water management along the Montana-Wyoming border. The terrain is marked by numerous mineral operations, including the Sykes Mountain Mine, the Crooked Creek Group Mine, and the sprawling Lovell Deposit Number One Mine. These sites speak to the region's enduring mining heritage, where gypsum and other resources have long been harvested from the arid earth.

Water serves as the lifeblood of this high-country environment, channeled through engineered systems like the Big Fork Canal and the Dew and Duffield Ditch. In the south, the Horseshoe Dam regulates flow near the border, while the western edge of Bighorn Lake provides a significant hydrological landmark. This intersection of natural features like Britton Spring and the complex network of irrigation ditches illustrates how early 21st-century land use continues to balance resource extraction with the necessity of water transport.